Parklife Festival partners with The 10,000 Hours Foundation UK

27th June 2017

Parklife Festival and Manchester City Council are proud to announce a partnership with The 10,000 Hours Foundation as part of the initiative’s launch in the city.

Designed to organise volunteering projects in partnership with dance music festivals, the collaboration aims to enable fans to be a part of positive social change – launching with a volunteer-led renovation of Harpurhey Community Centre and Garden on Saturday 1st July.

Volunteers are needed this Thursday, June 29th and on Saturday 1st.

Parklife Festival will be utilising its social media influence to recruit volunteers from its fanbase. The helpers will engage in all sorts of activities as part of the renovation, including painting, plastering and gardening. The final touch comes from Manchester’s Northern Quarter street artists who will be turning the centre’s exterior into a beacon for the local community.

Oliver Wilson, Mancunian social entrepreneur & Director at newly launched The 10,000 Hours Foundation UK, told TPi: “Places like this could be serving the local community in so many ways, but years of Government cuts means that, sadly, that is currently not the case. We aim to unleash the huge potential of the centre with this project so that everyone can benefit, and in doing so, enable Parklife fans to be a part of positive change in our city.”

Founded in Amsterdam in 2010, The 10,000 Hours Foundation supports both local communities and the environment surrounding dance music festivals. In partnership with both festivals and DJs / artists alike, the foundation organises volunteering projects for willing festival goers to take part in. If you’re ready to get stuck in, volunteering activities in support of the communities in need – such as the homeless, the elderly and the disabled – now have over 40,000 hours underway across Europe.

Wilson continued: “In terms of social care and community support, there are huge gaps left by traditional institutions and the Government; yet this is the response from the electronic music and festival industry. We believe in harnessing the influence and power of the scene to positive ends, not only by supporting those who need it, but by enabling fans of these events to inspire an ongoing change in our society.”

Nick Stevenson, Managing Director at Mixmag Media added: “We’re so happy to be part of this incredible initiative, using music as a gateway to raise awareness of the importance of volunteering, and fostering community development.”

To be part of this growing movement, as the TPi team will be, please sign up for this week’s events here.